Courageous

by G.Parker

I didn't mean to do another movie review - that's not what this blog is supposed to be about.  But after purchasing the movie that we'd watched previously and watching it again, I decided it was time to comment on it.  It brought to mind much more than just thoughts about a movie, so I figured it would work for the blog.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly recommend it.  The makers of the movie have made three other movies now, and I'm excited for the work they do.  If you'e heard of Fireproof and Facing the Giants, then you know what I mean.

If you are not familiar with the story line, it goes something like this:  Policeman has small family and several co-worker friends.  A Hispanic man is looking for work and ends up working for this policeman, becoming a part of the group.  The policeman looses his youngest child in a car accident and faces great grief.  His friends rally around him and the experience makes him examine what kind of father he has been.  He resolves to do better and writes a resolution about it.  He asks his friends to look at it, and they all decide they need to do it.  It turns into a ceremony that the families participate in.  Toward the end, one of the friends makes a big mistake that ends up putting him in jail, and leaving his son fatherless.  Another of the policemen takes responsibility for a child that he had refused to acknowledge before.  At the end they participate in a Father's Day Sunday meeting about the resolution, encouraging all men to step up and be better fathers.

Once again my summary abilities lack finesse, but hopefully you get the idea.  There is a couple of subplots in addition to what I've mentioned, and LOADS of humor (which if you've seen their other movies, you know they do).  But the whole theme is family -- and what the father's role is.

A statement toward the end is what I wanted to focus on.  He asks where the courageous fathers are, those who are willing to stand up and be the men they need to be;  protect their families, lead them in faith and be the man of the house.  It made me think of writing in relation to what we stand for.  Are we courageous as writers?  Are we standing up for morality and faith?  I've been listening to conference in my car, and I just listened to President Monson talking to the Priesthood session.  He stated that they "couldn't take a chance on being immoral or dishonest."  They needed to stand and be examples to those around them.

I feel the same way with writing.  We have been given a gift from the Lord.  It is ours to use or not, but we've all been told that if we don't use and develop our gifts, they will go away.  I don't know about you, but writing is something that is deep inside me and I can't keep from doing.  I went on a sort of hiatus when I was having my children for about 10 years, but it called to me the whole time.  Many times I've thought it wasn't worth the stress on my relationships, my family, my home and wanted to quit, but I couldn't.  How could I face my Savior and say that I didn't develop all the gifts he had given me because it was too difficult?

So I pose that same question to you.  What are you doing with your gifts?  Are you being courageous?  Are you developing them, taking classes, reading books, working on it every day?  It's not something that comes without effort for most of us, it takes a great deal of time and effort.

I know you can do it.  It's our challenge to arrange our lives to enable ourselves to do what is expected and required of us.  Show the world what you can do.  Be courageous.